Melting icebergs game

GREEN AMBASSADORS 4 Youth
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Melting icebergs game
ENERGY
Time:
Who it’s for:
You’ll need:
10 minutes
All ages
• Sheets of newspaper
• Copies of the ‘Meet the polar bear’ sheet
What to do:
1. Spread the sheets of newspaper out on the floor, making sure there is one
piece per member of the group.
2. Explain that the sheets of newspaper are icebergs and that the members are all
polar bears.
3. The group should run around the room pretending to swim in the cold water.
4. When the leader calls out:
– “polar bear’s tired” everyone jumps onto the nearest iceberg
– “polar bear’s swimming” everyone starts swimming again
– “climate’s changing” the leader removes one sheet of newspaper.
5. Only one polar bear can stand on an iceberg at a time. Once the icebergs start
disappearing, the polar bears left without an iceberg are out of the game. The
last polar bear left is the winner.
6. Discuss why the climate is changing (our energy hungry lifestyles use lots of
fossil fuels which release carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, trapping heat
and causing the temperature to rise – this leads to changes to our climate) and
what effect this will have on all animals including polar bears (eg seasonal food
availability may change, the places where they live may be negatively affected
or destroyed/flooded). You could hand out copies of the ‘Meat the polar bear’
sheet at this point or use this as your crib sheet.
7. Consider how we can help by saving energy (eg switching off lights, not leaving
electrical equipment on standby, changing the way we travel around, turning
down the heating at home...).
GREEN AMBASSADORS 4 Youth
ENERGY
Meet the polar bear
© Steve Morello / WWF-Canon
Description
The polar bear – Ursus maritimus, or “sea bear”
– is the largest living land carnivore. Adult males
measure 2.6 metres in length and weigh 400600 kg. Females are about half the size. Polar
bear cubs are born in snow dens and weigh up to
0.7 kg at birth. The polar bear’s coat, covering it
completely except for the nose and foot pads, is
superbly adapted to Arctic environments, where
temperatures rarely exceed 10 °C (50 °F) in
summer and typically hover around -30 °C (-22 °F) during winter. It is the reflection of light that causes the fur to appear white, or yellowish
white. In fact, the fur has no white pigment. Polar bears are excellent swimmers and can sustain a
pace of 10 km/h by using their front paws like oars while their hind legs are held flat like a rudder.
The soles of their feet have small lumps and grooves that help the bear to walk without slipping.
They feed on ringed seals.
Where they live
Polar bears live on the ice-covered waters of the Arctic – Canada, Norway, northern USA and
Russia. They spend much of their time at or near the edge of the pack ice. This is where they are
most likely to find food. As the southern edge of the arctic ice cap melts in summer, some bears
will follow the retreating ice north to stay close to seals and other prey. Other bears spend their
summers on land, living off body fat stored from successful hunting in the spring and winter. When
the ice returns in the fall, the bears leave land to resume life on the sea ice.
Threats
Increasing levels of carbon dioxide and other heat-trapping gases in the atmosphere from the
burning of fossil fuels - oil, coal and gas - are causing global warming (see ‘A changing climate’). As a result, annual sea ice in the Arctic is melting earlier in the spring and forming later in the
autumn. Research funded by WWF has found that this leaves many polar bears with less time on
the sea ice to hunt for food and build up their fat stores, and increased time on land where they must
fast. As their icy habitat disappears, the survival of the polar bear is at risk.
Although the species is not currently endangered, its future is far from certain. If current warming
trends continue, scientists believe that polar bears may disappear within 100 years.
Large carnivores are sensitive indicators of ecosystem health. Polar bears are studied to gain an
understanding of what is happening throughout the Arctic as a polar bear at risk is often a sign of
something wrong somewhere in the arctic marine ecosystem.
GREEN AMBASSADORS 4 Youth
A changing climate
ENERGY
Our climate has changed many times over the history of the earth – think of the ice age and the
dinosaurs! But most scientists and governments agree that human activities are making the climate
change so fast, that nature can’t keep up – habitats and species just can’t adapt in time to survive.
And people are affected too – through increased risk of extreme weather events, flooding, etc which
affect livelihoods, property, food production and sometimes take lives.
What’s happening?
The earth is surrounded by a blanket of gases. This blanket is important because it lets just enough
heat from the sun through to the earth – and just enough heat to escape back into space – to allow
life on earth to flourish. But now this blanket of gases is building up too quickly and too thickly –
so more heat than before is trapped on the earth’s surface, upsetting the delicate balance. Some
people call this global warming or the greenhouse effect. A more accurate description is climate
change, as the effects can be variable, with some places getting hotter and drier, and others colder
and wetter.
The GreenHouse Effect
The Greenhouse Effect, David R. Wright, WWF-UK/Hodder and Stoughton, 1990
GREEN AMBASSADORS 4 Youth
A changing climate (continued)
ENERGY
What’s this got to do with us?
The houses we live in; the factories which make and the shops which sell the products we use;
the cars, lorries, planes, boats and trains which transport goods around the world and which we use
to get around in, and a host of other things we humans are responsible for – all use fossil fuels like
petrol, diesel, gas or electricity and all help to release greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide
into the atmosphere. How can we use less energy?
Here are some things for the unit to think about
How do we travel to our meetings – is their a better way?
Stop using so much gas and electricity in our homes and meeting place. How could we do this? Switch off lights, turn down heating, don’t leave electrical goods on standby, close the curtains, wear
an extra jumper.
Use electricity made from the sun, or wind – this type of energy does not create large amounts of
greenhouse gases.
Don’t waste water; electricity made from fossil fuels is used to pump water to your tap – using
water means using energy.
Buy things that are grown or made close to where you live – less fuel is used to bring these
things to you.
Reduce, reuse and recycle – lots of greenhouse gases come from the farms, mines, factories, and
transport that make and carry the things we buy. Buying fewer things, looking after the things we
have, finding new uses for some of the things we no longer need and recycling other things we no
longer need all help to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. It takes less energy to make things like
glass bottles, paper and aluminium cans from old cans, paper and bottles than it does when you
make them from new. Saving energy helps to save the planet for polar bears and people.